Favorite Schools

Favorite Teams

Letter: Shopping bag tax a waste of Mercer County freeholder time

plastic bags.jpg

Mercer County freeholders have approved placing a nonbinding referendum on the November ballot to get the public’s take on charging residents a 5-cent fee for each plastic shopping bag they use.
(Martin Griff | Times of Trenton)

While our property taxes and debt climb, the Mercer County freeholders are focused on other things. What could be more important than making living here more affordable? Plastic shopping bags and new taxes.

Our freeholders want to levy a 5-cent per bag tax on each plastic shopping bag used here in Mercer County. First, I consider it a waste of time, when there are more important things to be done. Second, let the actual stores worry about their shopping bags. The freeholders should mind their own business; the stores can charge a fee if they deem it necessary. Most grocery stores already sell reusable shopping bags and some offer a discount to those who use them. I've never seen any reason that the county government had to step in.

Even against the advice of its attorney, the freeholders decided to put a non-binding referendum on the ballot (“Bag-fee question approved for ballot — freeholders override attorney’s objection to nonbinding vote,” Aug. 15). I'm confident our voters won't give a vote of approval to the state Legislature to raise their own taxes.

If I am elected to freeholder, residents will see me vote against every unnecessary law and every new tax. Challenging this mindset that only the government can solve problems is exactly why I'm running. Usually, the government is creating the problems. If our county government did only what was absolutely necessary, we would all be better off.

-- Steven J. Uccio,
East Windsor
The writer is a Libertarian candidate for Mercer County freeholder.